Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 27 > Chapter 1 - Availability of Remedies -- Liability

• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Electronic funds transfer: The transfer of money between accounts by consumer electronic systems-such as automated teller machines (ATMs) and electronic payment of bills-rather than by check or cash. (Wire transfers, checks, drafts, and paper instruments do not fall into this category.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
• Health care professional: means , for the purposes of this part, physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, nursing assistants, chiropractors, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, dentists, dental hygienists, optometrists, medication aides, respiratory therapist practitioners, professional counselors, occupational therapists, midwives, psychologists, and other health care practitioners who are licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized or permitted by the laws of this state to administer health care services in the ordinary course of business or in the practice of a profession, whether paid or unpaid. See Montana Code 27-1-1601
• Health care provider: means and includes, for the purposes of this part, a health care professional, health care facility, home health care facility, assisted living facility, and any other person or facility otherwise authorized or permitted by any federal or state statute, regulation, order, or public health guidance to administer health care services or treatment. See Montana Code 27-1-1601
• Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• Judicial officers: means justices of the supreme court, judges of the district courts, justices of the peace, municipal judges, and city judges. See Montana Code 1-1-202
• Juror: A person who is on the jury.
• Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• mental health professional: means :

  (1)a certified professional person as defined in 53-21-106;

  (2)a physician licensed under Title 37, chapter 3;

  (3)a professional counselor licensed under Title 37, chapter 39;

  (4)a psychologist licensed under Title 37, chapter 17;

  (5)a clinical social worker licensed under Title 37, chapter 39;

  (6)an advanced practice registered nurse, as provided for in 37-8-202, with a clinical specialty in psychiatric mental health nursing; or

  (7)a marriage and family therapist licensed under Title 37, chapter 39. See Montana Code 27-1-1101

• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means an individual, corporation, nonprofit corporation, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, business or similar trust, association, joint venture, place of worship, personal representative, trustee, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Montana Code 27-1-1601
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Personal property: means money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidences of debt. See Montana Code 1-1-205
• Personal protective equipment: includes protective clothing, gloves, face shields, goggles, face masks, respirators, gowns, aprons, coveralls, and other equipment designed to protect the wearer from injury or spread of infection or illness. See Montana Code 27-1-1601
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• Premises: includes any real property and any appurtenant building or structure, as well as any other location, vehicle, or place, serving a commercial, residential, educational, religious, governmental, cultural, charitable, or health care purpose. See Montana Code 27-1-1601
• Printing: means the act of reproducing a design on a surface by any process. See Montana Code 1-1-203
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Public health guidance: includes guidance related to covid-19 issued by the following:

  (a)the centers for disease control and prevention of the U. See Montana Code 27-1-1601

• Qualified product: means and includes:

  (a)personal protective equipment and supplies used to treat covid-19 or to prevent the spread of covid-19;

  (b)medical devices, equipment, and supplies used to treat covid-19, including medical devices, equipment, and supplies that are used or modified for an unapproved use to treat covid-19 or to prevent the spread of covid-19;

  (c)medical devices, equipment, and supplies used outside of their normal use to treat covid-19 or to prevent the spread of covid-19;

  (d)medications used to treat covid-19, including medications prescribed or dispensed for off-label use to attempt to treat covid-19;

  (e)tests to diagnose or determine immunity to covid-19; and

  (f)a component of an item described in subsections (8)(a) through (8)(e). See Montana Code 27-1-1601

• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Real property: means lands, tenements, hereditaments, and possessory title to public lands. See Montana Code 1-1-205
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Several: means two or more. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• subscription: includes the mark of a person who cannot write if the person's name is written near the mark by another person who also signs that person's own name as a witness. See Montana Code 1-1-203
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. ^{Source: OCC}
• Willfully: when applied to the intent with which an act is done or omitted, means a purpose or willingness to commit the act or make the omission referred to. See Montana Code 1-1-204